Road Closed

[mrspirite]

hi there abers..can anyone help me..our village has effectively been closed to through traffic..there are signs at the entry to every road into our village,clearly stating the road is closed except for access to the village,and diversion signs put in place..as no-one seems to comply with these signs,and still use the village as a through route,i wondered if there insurance would be invalid if they were to have an accident whilst driving through a prohibited area....thanx for your views in advance.

[woofgang]

Interesting...so are all the roads that the rat runners are using still available for use by the villagers? If so, it would be difficult to divide out the people using the road for access from the people who weren't, given that they could argue that they had taken a wrong turning, were going to a shop, to look at a house for sale and so on, there are many reasons why a non resident could be there legitimately.

[TWR]

Are you taking about Sabden Mrs?

[gingejbee]

I agree with woof....how would an insurance company prove that you didn't have a reason for being in the village?

[mrspirite]

yes the roads are open to villagers,a main road to motorway has bn closed,so the signs are to stop traffic using village to access the motorway.the diversion adds about a mile to there journey.

[Zacs-Master]

I suspect if people are using sat nav it may still direct them through the village.

[woofgang]

well TBH, I don't see what can be done, as I said, the roads are open for use and it would be hard to prove that an individual had no reason to be there. There are two places around us that have permanent restrictions to "access only" The only people who have been stopped from using those roads are local cab drivers as residents used to watch who went by and report the cabs to the police.
people who know the area and live locally prefer to go the longer way around as the restricted roads are very narrow and parking is allowed on them making them a nightmare to negotiate.

[ToraToraTora]

Their insurance would still be invalid, contrary to common myth very few things invalidate insurance but what these sorts of things do do is give the insurer some ammunition to reduce or refuse a claim.

[Old_Geezer]

Are they official Highway Agency signs or are the locals just wanting to keep that part of the road the drivers pay for, for themselves ?

I can't see the insurance being invalid in either case, but if the signs are not official I suspect they have no affect whatsoever.

[mrspirite]

they are valid highways agency signs.

[themas]

Insurance will be valid. Enforcement is up to the police - who will likely need a lot of prodding to do anything. See if you can involve your local councillors & get them to put pressure on the police.

[sunny-dave]

Put a hi-viz jacket on. Stand at the access point with a big camera.

Word will get round very quickly & the problem will cease (or at least diminish significantly).



[ worked a treat when wagons were ignoring a weight restriction in our village - scared all the daft *** who were on their mobiles too ... ]

[hc4361]

What exactly does the road sign say? What symbols are shown? Can you find a picture and post it here?

[New Judge]

Whatever they say, whoever put them there and for what purpose, it would have no effect on Third Party insurance. As 3Ts says, very little invalidates cover except where a driver is driving whilst disqualified.

[cleggie]

its a public highway,so if they are all legal they can use the road.unless there are special restrictions in place by the highways dept.end off.cant just shut a rioad to all except residents etc